VG247 » Call of Duty: Advanced Warfarehttp://www.vg247.com
VG247.comTue, 03 Mar 2015 18:57:20 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1Advanced Warfare: new patch adds new weapon, Master Prestige ranks, morehttp://www.vg247.com/2015/03/03/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-new-patch-adds-new-weapon-ma/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/03/03/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-new-patch-adds-new-weapon-ma/#commentsTue, 03 Mar 2015 12:53:55 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=515468Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has received a new patch that gives season pass holders early access to a new weapon and everyone else a myriad of fixes and additions.

The patch went live today on Xbox 360 and Xbox One, without any official notes. CharlieIntel reports that among the new additions is the new Grand Master Prestige ranks, which were revealed earlier.

Emblems for said ranks are also added. The font size for the killfeed has been adjusted, along with a new layout for challenges. Exo Zombies mode can now also be paused.

But perhaps the most interesting one is that season pass holders now have access to a new Heavy Weapon called “Ohm” and its custom variant “Ohm Werewolf.” This weapon will likely drop with Ascendance, Advanced Warfare’s upcoming DLC, the same way the AE4 Assault Rifle dropped early ahead of the Havoc DLC release.

Advanced Warfare developer Sledgehammer Games will add 15 more Prestige levels to the latest Call of Duty, giving players at max XP a chance to grow even further.

According to the Sledgehammer Games blog, when you enter Master level your player XP is reset but challenge status remains the same and challenges are not reset.

Each of the 15 ranks of Master prestige unlocks a new Elite Loot Weapon. The final rank, Grand Master Prestige, awards a character gear set.

Take a look at the video and infographic below for more details.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/03/03/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-getting-15-new-prestige-levels/feed/0Call of Duty European Championship winner announcedhttp://www.vg247.com/2015/03/02/call-of-duty-european-championship-winner-announced/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/03/02/call-of-duty-european-championship-winner-announced/#commentsMon, 02 Mar 2015 19:30:13 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=515292The winner of the European round of the Call of Duty Championship has been announced.

This past weekend, 28 teams representing UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, the rest of Europe and Middle East attended the final of the European round of the Call of Duty Championship.

UK team Epsilon eSports was crowned the winner, and went home with the $5,000 first place prize pot. The final match was against TCM Gaming, also a UK team.

Epsilon eSports, along with another 13 qualified teams will attend the Call of Duty Worldwide Championship in Los Angeles on March 27-29, which has a price pool of $1 million.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/03/02/call-of-duty-european-championship-winner-announced/feed/0GTA 5 made $31 million in digital revenue in Januaryhttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/26/gta-5-made-31-million-in-digital-revenue-in-january/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/26/gta-5-made-31-million-in-digital-revenue-in-january/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 22:36:54 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=514859GTA 5 is the highest-grossing title at the moment in terms of digital revenue, and the PSN is absolutely minting it.

Digital games industry analyst Superdata has extended its scope to include console games, which means we suddenly have access to a whole bunch of data we’ve only been able to guess at, or extrapolate from comments made in publisher financial briefings.

For example: GTA 5 made $31.8 million in worldwide digital revenue in January 2015. That figure includes digital copies of the game sold via the PSN and Xbox Live, but also DLC and microtransaction content.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was the next most lucrative with $23.5 million.

Destiny was next with $14.2 million – the steep drop off between second and third is indicative of the comparative dearth of extra content available to Destiny players as compared to GTA 5 and Advanced Warfare, I assume. In fact, Dying Light was very close behind Destiny, with $12 million in sales.

Here’s the full top ten. It’s worth noting that this list shows global revenue but was selected based on the top ten in the US, which is why it doesn’t include FIFA 15 and its $28.3 million in digital revenue during January (a whopping 93% of which was microtransactions).

Superdata found that 63% of all revenue generated by the top ten console games listed above was generated on PlayStation platforms. 43% came from the PS4 alone. New-gen consoles together generated 70% more than their precursors.

Half of the revenue these ten games generated originated in the US, with 81% of Dying Light’s digital sales coming form the US, for example. Superdata said the console market has yet to take off in China; the firm’s PC digital revenues report frequently comments on that market’s importance, so we may see a change soon.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/26/gta-5-made-31-million-in-digital-revenue-in-january/feed/0Havoc DLC for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare out on PS3, PS4; PC delayedhttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/26/havoc-advanced-warfare-call-of-duty-pc-ps3-ps4/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/26/havoc-advanced-warfare-call-of-duty-pc-ps3-ps4/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 18:51:51 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=514812The Havoc DLC for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is now available for PlayStation 3 and PS4.

Havoc contains the four multiplayer maps Core, Drift, Sideshow, and Urban along with the AE4 directed energy assault rifle, its custom variant, and the Exo Zombies cooperative mode.

You can purchase the DLC separately or pick up the season pass for $49.99.

According to co-founder Michael Condrey, players of the latest Havoc DLC are asking how Exo abilities and verticality can be added to classic franchise maps.

“We’re taking a look at some opportunities to really highlight the vertical gameplay mechanics in some reimagined franchise favorites.”

“One new piece of feedback we have heard in Havoc is the fan desire to see some classic maps make their way to Advanced Warfare, and we’re taking a look at some opportunities to really highlight the vertical gameplay mechanics in some reimagined franchise favorites moving forward, like we did with Atlas Gorge,” said Condrey.

“Verticality is a key component of the new movement set in Advanced Warfare, and we’ve doubled down on that for Havoc,” he added. “We’re about to drop some news on how we’re pushing even further into that space in the coming DLC offerings, so stay tuned for more soon.”

The Havoc DLC for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has just been released on PS4 and PC, after a period of exclusivity on Xbox One.

So far, players are digging the changing map dynamic of Drift and the weird-out vibes of Sideshow, according to Condrey.

“Feedback has been well received, and some of the new ways to play in the Havoc maps have really resonated with fans.

“The avalanche dynamic event in Drift is a fan favorite, as is the more sinister flavor of Sideshow with its creepy clowns and wide open sight lines. The AE4 is also hit, bringing the benefits of a directed energy weapon to the AR class for the first time.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/26/advanced-warfare-recreate-classic-call-of-duty-maps-havoc/feed/0Clan Raids announced for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Companion Apphttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/25/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-companion-app/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/25/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-companion-app/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 20:59:16 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=514628Activision has announced a new Clan Raids mode will be made available through the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Companion App.

According to the CoD community blog, raids are time-based challenges where success earns you a spot on the Clan Raids leaderboards and new Clan Raid-exclusive in-game gear like the Equilibrium set.

Clan members will use Clan Tokens earned since launch to participate in the new mode.

“Raids can be initiated by your Clan Leader at any time, allowing you to play when you want,” reads the post. “Choose a squad, select the Raid, and complete a diverse set of objectives in a race against the clock.

“New Raids will be added over time, so there’s always a new challenge to look forward to when using the Call of Duty Companion app, whether it’s cooperating with your Clan in Raids or fighting for top spot in Clan Wars.”

Raids will launch as a Clan Raids Preview on March 9 for Diamond Division Clans which have placed first through third in a Diamond Division war before the aforementioned date.

Clan Raids will be made available to the public afterward. More information and preview eligibility requirements will be announced in the coming weeks.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/25/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-companion-app/feed/0Advanced Warfare: 15+ weapons balanced in next patch, more ways to get Elite dropshttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/24/advanced-warfare-15-weapons-balanced-in-next-patch-more-ways-to-get-elite-drops/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/24/advanced-warfare-15-weapons-balanced-in-next-patch-more-ways-to-get-elite-drops/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 09:19:41 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=514228The work on balancing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare continues with a new patch in the work that will tweak over 15 of the game’s weapons.

Sledgehammer’s Michael Condrey has answered a round of fan questions on Twitter about upcoming weapon tweaks in Advanced Warfare.

Steam’s latest free weekend event is Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The multiplayer portion can be downloaded for free starting now and through 1pm PST on Sunday.

You can play it for free until then. If you choose to buy it, you can get the standard edition for 34% off and the Digital Pro Edition for 25% off.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/20/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-multiplayer-weekend-steam/feed/0Advanced Warfare: Atlas Gorge multiplayer map now available for $5http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/11/advanced-warfare-atlas-gorge-multiplayer-map-now-available-for-5/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/11/advanced-warfare-atlas-gorge-multiplayer-map-now-available-for-5/#commentsWed, 11 Feb 2015 10:45:17 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=512263Atlas Gorge, the map previously exclusive to Advanced Warfare season pass holders has been made available for purchase as a standalone DLC.

You can now buy the Atlas Gorge multiplayer map standalone for $5, if you don’t have the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare season pass.

The map will no longer have its own playlist but instead will be added to the standard playlist rotation for TDM, Domination, Kill Confirmed. You will still need to either own it standalone, or own the season pass.

It is unclear at this stage if the game will separate players with access to the map from those who don’t. Otherwise you’ll end with players getting kicked from lobbies when Atlas gets the most votes.

This is the first time Activision does such a thing in Call of Duty multiplayer. The bonus map for Ghosts and Black Ops 2 were made available to everyone for free after launch, before being added to the standard rotation.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/11/advanced-warfare-atlas-gorge-multiplayer-map-now-available-for-5/feed/0The general public will be able to buy tickets to $1M Call of Duty Championshiphttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/10/call-of-duty-championship-esports-xbox/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/10/call-of-duty-championship-esports-xbox/#commentsTue, 10 Feb 2015 21:14:18 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=512158Activision and Major League Gaming have announced the ability for the general public to purchase tickets to Call of Duty Championship.

Let’s breakdown that tweet, shall we? Gear drops are basically new pieces of cosmetic armour sets that you can find in the random loot drops, they may even be exclusive to this weekend and won’t drop after. One Shot Moshpit is basically a playlist where you can only use sniper rifles.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/10/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-gun-game-sniper-playlist-weekend/feed/0Call of Duty European Championship finals datedhttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/09/call-of-duty-european-championship-finals-dated/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/09/call-of-duty-european-championship-finals-dated/#commentsMon, 09 Feb 2015 18:56:04 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=511919The finals for Call of Duty’s European Championship have been dated, with 28 teams vying for a spot in the global finals in March.

The European Call of Duty Championship finals will take place from February 28 – March 1 at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.

28 teams from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, and The Middle-East will be battling it out for a $10,000 prize pot.

The top 14 teams will get a chance to represent their country in the worldwide championship come March 27-29 in Los Angeles, the price pool of which is $1 million.

The UK will be well-represented with eight teams; Epsilon, TCM Gaming, Team Infused, Millenium, Aware EU, TotalECircuit, Sowerz and co., and Barrage Nightmare.

The event will be live-streamed on MLG.tv.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/09/call-of-duty-european-championship-finals-dated/feed/0Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare dev teases Gun Gamehttp://www.vg247.com/2015/02/09/gun-game-call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-tease/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/09/gun-game-call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-tease/#commentsMon, 09 Feb 2015 16:28:16 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=511903Gun Game may be on its way to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, if we’re interpreting this teaser correctly.

Michael Condrey, studio head of developer Sledgehammer Games has taken to Twitter to tease something very close to the heart of all shooter fans; Gun Game.

As you can see, a Gun Game match is about to begin on Bio Lab, one of the game’s vanilla maps. We’re guessing this will be in our hands very soon.

Gun Game is a classic mode that first started with Counter-Strike and was later adopted in many popular shooters. The mode starts all players with the same gun, and as they kill one another, they climb up the the gun tiers and get better guns. The first to get a kill with the final weapon tier, usually reserved for knives, wins the round.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/09/gun-game-call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-tease/feed/0Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Havoc dated for PC, PS3, PS4http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/04/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-havoc-pc-ps4/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/02/04/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-havoc-pc-ps4/#commentsWed, 04 Feb 2015 20:11:47 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=511161Havoc, first DLC pack for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, will be released on PC, PlayStation 3 and PS4 at the end of the month.

Come February 26, PC and PlayStation owners can finally get in on the Exo Zombies co-op mode Xbox users were able to play first.

The DLC also comes with the following four multiplayer maps: Core, Urban, Sideshow and Drift.

Havoc is included in the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare DLC Season Pass. Those without a Season Pass will pay $15.

The first Exo Zombies Easter egg, of surely many more to come, has been discovered. It’s a musical one that involves Richard Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. How you unlock it is not as convoluted as you might think.

To trigger this Easter egg, you’ll need to touch three objects in the first map, in any order.

Explaining it with text wouldn’t be very elegant. So instead, I am going to let YouTuber NoahJ456 do that for you through the magic of video.

Notice how the music starts playing each time he touches one of the objects.

The first chapter is called Outbreak, and it stars John Malkovich, Rose McGowan, Bill Paxton and The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal. It’s set in an Atlas facility that has been overrun by brain-munchers, and unfortunately for you, many of them are wearing exo suits.

Like Black Ops Zombies, Outbreak supports up to four players in co-op, and you’ll need to work together to overcome the horrors of the Atlas labs. This mode ditches the ability to block zombie spawn zones with wooden planks, and it creates a more immediate pace where the enemies just keep coming with a short breather between rounds.

Credits are earned by harming and killing zombies, and you’ll need to rack up a decent tally to buy new guns, upgrade existing loadouts and power generators to unlock more of the map. Your team doesn’t even start off with exo suits, and instead, must progress far enough to obtain them.

There’s still a great deal of trial and error at play here, because it won’t be immediately apparent what order you should be doing things in, or indeed what all of the unlockables do. For example, a decontamination zone will go unused for a few rounds, but as you near the tenth wave you’ll encounter exo zombies surrounded by a thick green haze.

Linger near these too long and you’ll become infected. The only way to shrug off the virus in time is to visit the decontamination zone and pay 250 credits to heal yourself, or anyone else standing in the area. This adds another welcome layer of urgency and chaos to the mix.

The zombies themselves are fast, and the exo variety can boost jump to higher ground. This means you’re never truly safe, and keeps the cat and mouse nature of the mode running nicely. You’ll also encounter electric zombies that exo slam into the ground to cause big damage, and those forever-annoying zombie dogs that can easily swarm in numbers.

It’s a great mode that benefits from some classic Black Ops power ups like hyper-damage, which enables one-shot kills, score multipliers, reload tokens, and the occasional care package drop from Atlas. There’s a great level of bonuses being doled out at a solid speed to keep you hooked, and the challenges start to spike early so seasoned zombie slayers needn’t worry about being coddled.

The banter between all four characters can be fun, but the way your character pitches into the conversation even when you’re far from your squadmates and unable to hear what they’re saying can prove jarring. However, there are some funny moments in there that usually come from Malkovich – a paranoid janitor who seems very fond of conspiracy theories.

If you’ve played Black Ops Zombies before then you already know what to expect in Outbreak, but the addition of exo suits on both sides shakes up the format enough to keep it fresh. Gun upgrades also make for some killer weaponry once you hit higher levels – try levelling the Bulldog shotgun for some real power, and the challenge gets brutal past level ten.

It’ll be interesting to see where the story progresses from here, because while we won’t spoil things for you, there’s definitely something bigger going on behind the outbreak.

To read Dave’s impressions of the new multiplayer Havoc maps, click here

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/28/call-of-duty-advanced-warfares-exo-zombies-reanimate-a-tired-format/feed/0Havoc maps up the tempo for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfarehttp://www.vg247.com/2015/01/28/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-havoc-dlc-review/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/28/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-havoc-dlc-review/#commentsWed, 28 Jan 2015 09:09:37 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=509764Dave Cook dons his Exo suit to find the new Havok DLC maps a great change of pace for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

Given that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare places great emphasis on verticality, it’s little wonder that Sledgehammer Games has designed the first of its four DLC map packs with elevation and height advantages in mind.

The Havoc pack often feels like it was crafted around the player’s new exo jump ability, and this is definitely a positive step, as it leaves the maps feeling complex and multilayered, yet dense and brimming with action.

Boosting to a high ledge or rooftop might give a player time to pick off opponents on lower levels, but in many cases there are other vantage points nearby so that, thankfully, rooftop camping isn’t an option. These maps are all about staying mobile, and that makes for an exciting match indeed.

Drift

“Drift is a superb map full of areas ripe for small skirmishes and tense exchanges.”

Set amid an alpine lodge resort, Drift is a superb map full of areas ripe for small skirmishes and tense exchanges. There are really three lanes to the environment, starting with a small Christmas market filled with low merchant stalls that seasoned exo air boosters can hop between without ever touching the ground. Just be sure to equip Blast Suppressor first.

Warning sirens will sound around the five-minute mark and an avalanche will spew over this third of the map to crush stalls, topple Christmas trees and send plastic reindeer flying around the area. It’ll also kill you, obviously, so don’t be there when it all kicks off.

This area enables players to quickly dash around stalls or break off to other sections of the map between bursts of fire, while providing plenty of cover. Yet the stalls never fully conceal players at all angles so camping is out.

The middle lane features a courtyard that boasts a spinning reindeer carousel. You can stand on it to earn some cheeky kills for your YouTube montage, or jump on top of it and hop between nearby shops and ski-lift terminals. In fact, you can cover a lot of distance in Drift without ever hitting ground level, and this middle lane is a quick but risky through-point.

But it’s perhaps the third lane that impresses most in this brilliant map. It’s a train station with an elevated terminal building at one end, and shops at the other. Both of these ends are raised, with lower buildings in between. Again, you can boost jump your way from one end to the other by only touching rooftops if you’re careful, or enter into long range sniper battles from both sides. The choice is yours.

Drift has great zone control sections, superb team deathmatch choke points and tense expanses, while delivering a festive backdrop filled with all new assets and some jaunty carols in the process. Lovely stuff.

Sideshow

This is a weird map concept, as it’s a ravaged clown-themed motel that feels like the stuff serial killers dream of. Strangeness aside, this is another great map that shakes things up by taking a step away from tight corridors and presents wide areas with sparse cover.

It’s all wrapped around a motel sign, which is essentially a big clown that periodically laughs and spews one-liners, will launching firework bombs from under its hat. These little buggers will explode after a few moments with a wide blast radius, so it’s best that you steer well clear of them.

“Every dash across open ground is a gamble here, so just remember there are few places that guarantee total safety.”

One spawn zone is placed next to a car wash and sewer trench, which offer little in the way of cover. The other zone can be found next to a mine shaft, while the motel itself serves as a contested middle ground for battles. It’s a two floor structure with many rooms, stairways and of course, rooftops that exo jumpers can use to their advantage.

This is definitely a map that rewards slower, tug-of-war play. Running out into the open on Sideshow will get you very dead, very quickly, and great consideration is needed when stepping out from behind cover. Raise your aim before doing so, check your surroundings and cloak up if you have the skill equipped.

What you’ll find during matches on this map is that pockets of each team will hunker down on either the gas station roof at one end, and the motel roof at the other. You need to be seriously aware of snipers here, and it might pay to equip a thermal scope to your long range weapon to improve visibility.

This is another good map with a unique environment, and a different pace from most of the on-disc efforts. Every dash across open ground is a gamble here, so just remember there are few places that guarantee total safety, and think twice before making a break for it.

Core

This is a thoroughly complex map to get your head around at first but the twisted wreck of scrap metal and old reactor parts is a real playground of carnage. It’s all so incredibly uneven, thanks to thick sand piles clogging up the map’s border, crude rising walkways made from junk, and underground pipelines running below the environment. Danger can come from any angle here.

“The central reactor room on the lower level is a real treat – a cavernous kill-room that invites players to enter into a grand skirmish from all angles.”

This is most certainly the opposite of Sideshow’s broad routes, with plenty of tight corridors broken up with wider expanses. One particular area of note offers a raised platform that acts as a stepping stone across a pool of non-lethal sludge. The area is big enough to encourage mid-to-long range exchanges, but the option to drop down and take the sewers below makes it a neat but risky shortcut.

However, like Sideshow, you will need to exert caution as you turn every corner, thanks to a myriad of vantage points and sneaking spots concealed amid the wreckage. One side offers circular sections of cooling tower that can be entered and defended by well coordinated teams, while the sandy courtyard outside is a deathtrap for idling soldiers.

This particular area also boasts two raised points at either end where teams can hole up, but as we learned the hard way, it’s easy to get flanked and killed if you aren’t watching your rear, thanks to the labyrinthine alternative routes on offer.

Meanwhile, the pipelines below lead to wider caverns that are ideal for campers to get perhaps one lucky kill, but rest assured, this isn’t a map that lone wolves will fare well on if they simply stand in one place for too long, because you’re never too far from another player eager to pick you off. Like Drift and Sideshow, the key to winning on Core is to keep moving, or hole up with team-mates.

The central reactor room on the map’s lower level is a real treat – a cavernous kill-room that invites players to enter into a grand skirmish from all angles. With four points of entry, and some low cover, this chamber is reminiscent of the underground bunker in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2′s map Wasteland. That’s certainly a good thing, but don’t expect to live long down there if you’re unprepared.

This map impresses with superb visuals and a sheer volume of activity. Everywhere you look there are toxic clean-up robots walking around cleaning up gunk, or welding the scenery. It certainly feels more alive than other Call of Duty maps, that’s for sure, and it positively sings on all modes.

Urban

Lastly, Urban deserves note for its superb design alone. It’s set in a section of Texas which has been placed under Atlas curfew and it certainly has a Half-Life, City-17 vibe about it. It’s bleak yet stylish.

Confidently the smallest map on offer, players can choose to enter a multi-storey building in the centre of the environment, or skirt around the sides using lower terrain. One flank is elevated with two sets of stairs leading up to a raised point in the middle, while the other features a low hover bike parking area surrounded by security walls.

Due to its small size, it’s advised that players should refrain from running around Urban like a lunatic to avoid being picked off by enemies coming the opposite way, or someone lying in wait at an elevated window. It’s best to avoid the street below if possible, and to only use it when making a quick break from one area to the next.

What we found is that most players gravitate towards the two staircases that meet in the middle. It’s the area with a big sign that reads ‘Century Station’ and it appears to be a hot-zone based in our matches so far. It’s a quick way to cross the map but it gets insanely messy up there.

There is a central rooftop area below these staircases that creates space between both halves of the central, elevated building. This area, once again, is a potential deathtrap for anyone who idles too long. What you have on either side are essentially two towers that are great for exchanges over open terrain, but players should be wary of taking a fist or knife to the back if they window-camp too long.

The map expands over time, as curfew areas around one side of the map – the one with the hoverbike car park – open up. These tight, claustrophobic processing rooms hold pillars and dark corners that should be a shotgun fan’s dream, and a potential nightmare for those who tread without caution. They can be used to avoid the chaos of the central area and enter into a different pace of play. It really is an insane map with a high kill rate that remind us of Call of Duty 4′s Shipment.

While Urban is aesthetically spot-on, it does feel restrictive and prone to campers. There are too many tight corners that give players cover on most sides, which is something of a flaw in design, but this niggle aside, there’s certainly something old-school about fighting over one central, contested building. Some will love it, but we’re sure others won’t stomach the rapid fire deaths.

With three stellar maps on offer and one that will perhaps reveal itself as great for objective play over time, the new maps for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare are a great bolt-on to the core multiplayer experience, offering fun design, imaginative locales and a different tempo from the on-disc efforts.

There’s also the AE-9 Widowmaker energy weapon – an unwieldy, slow firing face-melter which packs a brutal punch. It boasts unlimited ammo but is prone to overheating delays, and while it’s strong, it suffers greatly over long range. Treat it like an SMG with LMG handling and you’ll be fine.

There you have it; a strong start to what hopes to be a solid season of new content.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/20/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-exo-zombies-teases-are-getting-weird/feed/0Reverse boosting in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will get you bannedhttp://www.vg247.com/2015/01/19/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-reverse-boosting/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/19/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-reverse-boosting/#commentsMon, 19 Jan 2015 11:00:02 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=508238Players who “reverse boost” during Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be on the receiving end of a more vigilant banning policy, according to developer Sledgehammer Games.

“We have a low tolerance approach to people who ruin the experience for others through cheating, boosting, reverse boosting or being caught with toxic emblems in game.”

Some players deliberately kill themselves and trash their own stats during multiplayer matches, which results in the skill-based matchmaking placing them in lobbies with new players, which they then dominate.

It also results in fellow team members being penalised during team-based matches.

Sledgehammer’s own Michael Condrey has found himself playing with others who exploit the system, and it’s just one of the things he’s looking to swing the banhammer at.

“Playing at home, I’ve been randomly matched with players doing this and it’s incredibly frustrating to lose based largely on my team being down a contributing teammate,” he wrote on the official blog.

“No one wants to lose an objective based match by effectively being outnumbered while their teammate shoots grenades into their own forehead 100 times in the corner. It’s not right, and it hurts you and your team’s online experience. Call of Duty is both social and competitive, and we respect and honor that. Part of the competition that is core to our values is that players do not adversely degrade their team’s ability to compete fairly.

“It’s not dissimilar from the bans that cheaters and boosters receive, and we have increased our focus on reverse boost banning to combat the growing issue. No one is trying to restrict the fun factor of playing Advanced Warfare with this policy, nor are we actively banning against particular styles of play, like trick shots.

“However, we have a low tolerance approach to people who ruin the experience for others through cheating, boosting, reverse boosting or being caught with toxic emblems in game. We don’t like seeing any of these happen, and we’re pushing to eliminate these behaviors from the game.”

So don’t play like a prick. You have been warned.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/19/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-reverse-boosting/feed/0Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, PS4 were the top-sellers in the US in 2014http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/16/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-ps4-were-the-top-sellers-in-the-us-in-2014/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/16/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-ps4-were-the-top-sellers-in-the-us-in-2014/#commentsFri, 16 Jan 2015 00:20:06 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=507933Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was the best-selling game of 2014, to absolutely nobody’s surprise.

According to a statement from Sony, the PS4 was also the best-selling console globally. It remains the fastest selling PlayStation console yet, and has sold 18.5 million units in the 14 months since its launch, including 4.1 million holiday sales across 123 countries.

The NPD Group said that PS4 and Xbox One combined sales continue to outpace the PS3 and Xbox 360 during the same period.

The Wii U had a good time over the holidays, Nintendo said, enjoying its best month of sales to date in December. Total December Wii U hardware sales increased 29%, and software sales jumped by 75%, year-on-year.

The 3DS also established a record for greatest single month first-party software sales, thanks to Super Smash Bros. and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.

Software 2014

This year’s Call of Duty, Advanced Warfare, was the best-selling game of the year, which is deeply unsurprising. Activision must be pleased as Ghosts, last year’s entry, has a somewhat poor reputation (it did sell like hotcakes but was outpaced by GTA 5). The Xbox 360 version of Advanced Warfare was the most popular, followed by Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and PC.

Over the course of the year, new-gen software sales increased 70% (unsurprising, as they were on sale for ten more months than in 2013), and last-gen software sales dropped 33%. Portable software dropped 16% over 2013.

You’ll notice there’s no Assassin’s Creed or Just Dance game on the top ten. Happily for Ubisoft, Watch Dogs is still doing pretty well.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, PC)

Madden NFL 15 (Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PS3)

Destiny (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3)

Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3)

Minecraft (Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)

Super Smash Bros. (3DS, Wii U)

NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Watch Dogs (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)

FIFA 15 (Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Wii, 3DS, Vita)

Call of Duty: Ghosts (Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, PC)

For December 2014, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was the tops seller, and Activision was rather pleased with the shooter topping both charts and Destiny being included on each.

“We’d like to thank our fans for making Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare the number one, top-selling video game in the world and Destiny the number one new video game IP of 2014,” said CEO Eric Hirshberg in a prepared statement. “As much fun as we had making these games, we’ve had even more fun playing alongside you.”

Grand Theft Auto 5 came in second during December, Madden 15 came in third for the month, and Nitendo’s Super Smash Bros. landed in the top five in fourth.

Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4 and Just Dance landed in top 10 and Destiny was there as well in ninth place.

As ever, these figures only include traditional physical retail, so don’t get depressed about the downswing in software in particular – especially as there was a 10% decline in new releases over 2013, and last year saw the juggernaut launch of GTA 5.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/16/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-ps4-were-the-top-sellers-in-the-us-in-2014/feed/0Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Havoc DLC video is full of zombieshttp://www.vg247.com/2015/01/13/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-zombies/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/13/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-zombies/#commentsTue, 13 Jan 2015 18:40:56 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=507480A video for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Havoc DLC Pack has been released, and with the new DLC you can expect a new weapon and four new multiplayer maps.

Along with the new maps and weapon comes a new custom weapon variant and a new breed of Zombies with a new Exo Zombies co-op experience.

Here’s more information on what’s included along with information on the maps:

Four new multiplayer maps.

Access to the AE4 directed energy assault rifle.

The AE4 Widowmaker custom variant.

New Zombies cooperative mode called Exo Zombies.

Story told through the eyes of four employees of the Atlas corporation: John Malkovich, Bill Paxton, Rose McGowan and Jon Bernthal (voice and likeness).

Core: Deploy to the Gobi desert where the ravaged ruins of a nuclear fusion plant set the stage for a high-octane warzone. Take down enemies through the wreckage in long-range combat or get up-close and personal in the tunnels surrounding the central turbine. Activate decontamination drones using the map-based scorestreak to help clean out the competition.

Sideshow: In the shadow of Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, this abandoned inn’s open layout amplifies its creep factor. Blast your way through the clown inn with close-quarters battles or use long-range site-lines from the mining facilities and natural terrain. Use the map-based scorestreak to activate the lights, music, and magic of the clown marquee and rain down a barrage of rainbow smoke-trailed cannonballs.

Drift: An idyllic ski resort high in the Rocky Mountains is transformed into a festive high-altitude playground, perfect for an all-out firefight. Make your way to the highly contested over watch in the glass observation deck or take a ride on the carousel to deliver 360 degrees of carnage. Players can use the map-altering timed event to their advantage as an avalanche of snow and debris disorients players, intensifying the battle.

Havoc will be available first, exclusively on Xbox Live for $15 on January 27. Microsoft Season Pass holders also now have instant access to the Havoc DLC Pack bonus weapons.

The DLC will be made available on PC and PlayStation systems once the Xbox exclusivity period ends.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/13/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-zombies/feed/0Advanced Warfare still freezes on PS3, Activision aware of the issuehttp://www.vg247.com/2015/01/09/advanced-warfare-still-freezes-on-ps3-activision-aware-of-the-issue/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/09/advanced-warfare-still-freezes-on-ps3-activision-aware-of-the-issue/#commentsFri, 09 Jan 2015 10:13:57 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=507010Some of those who play Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on PS3 have been reporting game freeze issues since as far back as November, and they’ve yet to get fixed.

The freeze issues reported by players were never fixed, according to the most recent forum posts. The reason the furore has been revived again is because Advanced Warfare has only just received its latest patch on PS3.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/09/advanced-warfare-still-freezes-on-ps3-activision-aware-of-the-issue/feed/0Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Daily Challenges are coming to Xbox 360 and PS3http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/08/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-daily-challenges-are-coming-to-xbox-360-and-ps3/
http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/08/call-of-duty-advanced-warfare-daily-challenges-are-coming-to-xbox-360-and-ps3/#commentsThu, 08 Jan 2015 10:54:13 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=506841Sledgehammer has assured old-gen players that Daily Challenges in Advanced Warfare are currently being worked on for Xbox 360 and PS3

Meanwhile, Sledgehammer has just pushed out an update to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on Xbox 360 to improve connectivity issues and content management for any purchase made through the in-game store.

Week four of the US PSN Holiday sale brings a large assortment of games and other stuff we don’t care about. But, what we do care about are video games, so I am going to list some highlights of this enormous sale.

The sale is active now on the US PSN through December 29. From left to right: PS Plus price, sale price, regular price.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2014/12/24/us-psn-holiday-sale-battlefield-4-gta-5-alien-isolation-advanced-warfare-and-more/feed/0Earn new exclusive loot in CoD: Advanced Warfare when you play this weekhttp://www.vg247.com/2014/12/23/earn-new-exclusive-loot-in-cod-advanced-warfare-when-you-play-this-week/
http://www.vg247.com/2014/12/23/earn-new-exclusive-loot-in-cod-advanced-warfare-when-you-play-this-week/#commentsTue, 23 Dec 2014 10:02:27 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=506117Those who play Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare this week will get an exclusive new piece of gear for use in multiplayer.

Advanced Warfare developer Sledgehammer Games is celebrating the holidays by giving anyone that plays the game from Monday and through Friday, December 26 at 9am PDT The KVA Paramilitary helmet.

The helmet is part of a new character gear set called the The KVA Paramilitary. The rest of the pieces have been added to the game’s loot items that you can get in Supply Drops.